UDMTR partners with Montessori schools who wish to recruit and train new teachers by providing intensive coaching and instruction over the course of a two-year teacher residency program. The partner schools may identify and recruit teachers on their own, or can work with UDMTR to identify qualified teaching candidates. Existing Montessori school staff may train to be coaches providing internal support to residents. The resident teachers are employed by the partner school and are concurrently enrolled in the UDMTR program.
Upon successful completion, residents receive a MACTE-accredited (Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education) Elementary I and II, or Primary diploma.
Program Schedule — Elementary Residents Cohort (age 6-12)
2025 (Elementary I/II) – The following 2-year program takes place June 2025 to July 2027.
ACADEMIC YEAR 1 (2025-26)
- June 13, 2025 — Signed MOU (memorandum of understanding) with school (due with 10% deposit)
- July 1, 2025 — Payment deadline — balance of program tuition due
- June-July 7, 2025 — Foundations Seminar (online)— Online self-paced prerequisite course: required for Elementary residents without Montessori Primary Certification (available to residents after course deposit is processed).
- July 7-Aug. 8, 2025 — Summer Session I – Five-week intensive kick-off course takes place at First State Montessori Academy in Wilmington, Delaware, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday in person / Friday virtual.
- Six weekend seminars — October 10-11, 2025; November 7-8, 2025; January 16-17, 2026; February 13-14, 2026; March 20-21, 2026; April 17-18, 2026.
- Other program components — Each program year (academic year) also includes 20 coaching sessions (1 hour per week of observation and debrief), 20 lesson studies either on-site or remotely, 2 field supervision visits, 4 virtual surround sessions (asynchronous with a 1 hour synchronous session) plus assignments; classroom observations and completion of Montessori albums.
ACADEMIC YEAR 2 (2026-27)
- Art and Music Seminars – June 2026
- July – Aug. 2026 Summer Session II – Five-week intensive on Montessori materials and lessons. 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday in person / Friday virtual. Specific dates to be determined.
- Six weekend seminars — October TBD 2026; November TBD 2026; January TBD 2027; February TBD, 2027; March TBD 2027; April TBD, 2027.
- Other program components — see above
JUNE 2027 — Summer Session III
- Preparation Sessions for final exams
- Final submission of albums, rationales, final written and oral examinations
For more information — join our mailing list
For more information about this program or to join the mailing list, please contact UDMTR director Linda Zankowsky via the following webform:
